There is a rise in the number of appeals made to have the results of Leaving Cert papers reviewed this year, despite the fact that there were fewer exam candidates than there were in 2006.
According to the State Examination Commission (SEC), 9,765 appeals were made by Leaving Cert candidates to have the result of individual examinations reviewed as compared with 9,502 appeals last year.
The deadline for receipt of appeal applications to the SEC was last Wednesday and the fee per standard subject, refundable in the case of a successful appeal, was €37. A spokesperson for the SEC told The Irish Times that some appeal applications have not yet been processed and included in the figures released yesterday because of some candidates' failure to correctly process their fees.
The highest number of appeals was made for English, Irish and French higher level papers. The SEC received 1,799 appeals to review higher level English, 910 appeals for higher level Irish and 703 for higher level French.
In 2006 and 2005 higher level English also topped the list for the most appealed subject, with higher level Irish and geography and higher level biology and geography following in respective years. The majority of appeals are made for higher level papers with mathematics being the most significant subject represented in appeal applications at ordinary level.
In 2005 2,651 upgrades were awarded from the 11,582 reviewed and in 2006, 2,060 of the 9,502 exams reviewed were upgraded.